Patna: A cleanliness drive launched by a town in India’s Bihar state has been mired in controversy after authorities selected a Pakistani girl to become “brand ambassador” of the campaign.
To add to the embarrassment for the government the unnamed little girl — whose picture features on the cover page of a booklet meant to raise public awareness about hygiene — can be seen drawing a Pakistan flag in the photograph.
The major goof-up has prompted the government to order an investigation.
According to reports the district administration in Jamui, some 150 kilometres east of state capital Patna, recently launched the “Clean Jamui, Healthy Jamui” campaign to make the masses aware about the importance of sanitation.
To promote the campaign, the local district administration inadvertently printed booklets and notebooks bearing the photograph of the Pakistani girl on their cover page.
These booklets and notebooks were later distributed among schoolchildren, aanganwadi centres and other sites.
The mistake came to light on Friday when a local media outlet highlighted that the girl featured on the cover of the booklets and notebooks about sanitation happens to be Pakistani.
Further investigation into the matter revealed the girl was pictured drawing a Pakistani flag and was being promoted as the face of Unicef in Pakistan for education.
The girl’s photograph features with a story entitled “See how education is reaching children in Pakistan”.
The Jamui district magistrate Dharmendra Kumar has now ordered an investigation into the matter.
“We will initiate action against the guilty after the probe report comes,” the district magistrate told the media on Saturday.
Reports said the order to print the booklets and notebooks was issued by the previous district magistrate Dr Kaushal Kishore.
It was after this order that some 5,000 booklets were printed and then distributed among the schoolchildren and masses.
They were printed by Suprabh Enterprises printing press in Patna which said that a prior approval from the district administration was taken before putting the photograph on the notebook covers.
But the committee in charge of launching sanitation drive has a different story to tell.
“We had given the approval only to print the booklets on sanitation, and not the photograph of the Pakistani girl.”
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the weeklong cleanliness campaign in Motihari, the headquarters of East Champaran district, to commemorate 100 years of Champaran satyagrah launched by Mahatma Gandhi. The function was attended was 20,000 Swachhgrahis (cleanliness ambassadors).
